Amish Country Arson (14 page)

Levi put the end of the nail cutter against
Mark's shoe sole and snapped the nail head off swiftly. He got back
out of the way and handed the bolt cutter to Davie to take back to
the shed.

“Now I'll untie the shoe and ease it off his
foot. All of you be prepared for the sight of blood,” Hal warned.
She loosened the shoe string, took it out of the eyes and pulled
the tongue back toward the shoe toe. “Hold tight, Noah,” Hal said
softly as she eased the shoe off with one smooth movement.

“Mama Hal, Mark fainted,” Daniel cried.

“That's gute. We'll clean the wound before he
wakes up,” Hal said.

Emma knelt beside Hal. Edna handed her the
pan of warm water. Margaret set a basket with bandaging material
near Hal and laid a cloth and towel on top the basket. Emma dropped
the cloth in the wash pan.

Hal rolled the black sock off Mark's foot as
blood dripped from it. “Denki, ladies.” The sock resisted on top
the foot. Hal eased the sock up and found the nail had gone through
to the top of the foot.

“What else can we do to help?” Edna
asked.

“Pray,” Hal replied. As she studied the nail,
with blood oozing around it, in the bottom of Mark's foot, the
women circled around them and knelt to pray. “Noah, hold his leg
tight at the ankle.” Hal picked up the pliers and got a good bite
on the nail shank. She gave a pull, and the nail came out. Blood
poured from the wound.

Emma handed Hal the wash cloth.

Hal wiped as much blood as she could from the
site. “I believe the nail hit an a vein. We need to send Mark to
the hospital. Someone call the ambulance.”

Davie Stolfus shuffled off to the phone booth
without being told.

Emma rinsed out the wash cloth. Hal wrapped
it around Mark's foot and pressed in on the wound sites, hoping
pressure would slow the bleeding.

It seemed to take forever before the
ambulance stopped by the group in the yard. Daryl and Ivan wheeled
the gurney over while Steve carried the back board.

Steve asked Linda Yoder for Mark's name and
age with history of medicines and allergies. Daryl asked Hal for an
assessment of the wound as Ivan and he rolled the gurney to the
ambulance. In a matter of minutes, the ambulance raced down the
road hidden in plumes of dust.

On Tuesday, three men were placed in charge
of constructing the barn - a contractor, a mason and a
post-and-beam expert. They coordinated teams of workers for the
project. Over a hundred men worked each day.
That meant
almost as many women came to cook, and a great number of children
did odd jobs.

The barn raising started with the foundation.
A small group of men mortared cement blocks together. True to his
word, Chicken Plucker and his sons had taken out the barn yard
fence and laid out the area for the new foundation farther away
from the house. By late afternoon the foundation was together and
drying.

The following day, Wednesday, the early
morning sun shone brightly over harvested corn and hay fields.
Timbers revealed a patchwork of colored leaves. A heavy frost
coated everything, lending gay sparkles to the landscape.

Over two hundred Amish men, women, and a
countless number of children, walked the rural roads. Some took
short cuts as they traversed harvested fields. Others drove steeled
wheeled, blue or green tractors, buggies and horses. They started
arriving around eight that morning.

Boys met buggies at the entrance of the
hay field behind the house. They took charge of the buggies and
tied up the horses to the ropes stretched out from hay wagon to hay
wagon. The field
quickly filled with neat rows of
buggies.

The men gathered at the site of the
barn's foundation. Lumber, boxes of nails and stacks of roofing
tin
were neatly piles, ready to be assembled by
workers during the frolic. The smell of fresh cut wood lingered
over the area.

When it looked like all the crew was
assembled, Bishop Bontrager came to stand by the barn foundation
and motioned for the Plain people to mill around him. He held his
hand up for quiet. “We shall have the dedication for the barn
raising now.”

The men took off their straw hats. Everyone
bowed their heads, and the children quieted down. Bishop Bontrager
raised his voice to be heard by the large crowd. “The Lord will
work among us with the unfolding of this barn. This is His way to
make gute things come from bad if we let Him. Prayers, support and
counsel from all of you, our brothers, sisters and friends are
solicited for our safety as this barn goes up.

May your lives bear witness to the message of
hard work and fellowship we are called to share by putting up this
barn. For the Lord is present with us, His people. He celebrates
life with us. This barn we dedicate today is already yours, O God,
for you are our God! We are the sheep of your pasture, a flock
under your care. Keep our workers safe this day. Praise be to God!
Amen and Amen.” He raised his head and put his straw hat back on.
“Now, builders, we can begin already.”

Abel Beiler supervised the completion of the
work. He had many years of experience in such endeavors. The
workers participated under his direction to erect the frame, walls,
and the roof.

After a short discussion with the
contractors, the men rolled up their sleeves and went to work at
the various jobs. The older, experienced men acted as supervisors.
Men and teenage boys cut boards to fit. Others nailed the boards
together. Young boys ran errands, carried tools where needed and
kept the men's nail aprons filled.

Early that morning, the operator parked the
crane off to the side. With his hard hat on, the man picked up a
hammer and pounded nails while he waited for a signal to bring the
crane forward and get hooked up to a beam or wall.

The women and girls prepared for the noon
feast as they visited. Hal still have a slight headache. She didn't
know if she could stay on her feet all day or not. She probably
should have stayed home after the stress of the day before, but she
didn't want to miss the barn raising.

What a trooper Mark Yoder was, He insisted on
coming. Right now he sat under the maple shade tree in the Stolfus
yard with his bandaged foot elevated on a rolled quilt. From the
frown on the boy's face, Hal figured his foot was throbbing, but he
didn't want to stay home and miss out on the barn raising. If Mark
could endure suffering from his aching foot to be there, she could
put up with a slight headache.

This was a special day her parents and aunt
would have to tell their friends about when they went home. Nora
was helping Margaret Yoder peel potatoes. They talked about how
nice the fall weather had been. Margaret said God blessed them with
this beautiful weather for the barn raising.

Aunt Tootie helped Eli Mast's mother,
Edna, unpack the crates containing the table settings. They chatted
as if they had been life long friends. Hal smiled.
Why not?
The two elderly
women are very much alike.

Silver haired Edna, with burnished skin from
working outside all her life, was a complainer about everyone's
imperfections and her own health. Hal learned long ago not to ask
Edna how she was feeling. Not if she didn't want to listen to a
vast list of the woman's ailments.

At the moment, Aunt Tootie was at the top of
her element. She was in the middle of explaining to Edna about the
skunk and how the smell almost choked her to death. Edna hung on to
every word with a sympathetic look.

Jim, somewhere among the men, pounded nails
and enjoyed every minute of it. Hal felt a deep gratitude to the
Plain people for accepting her family among them while they
vacationed with her.

Many of the dishes had been prepared ahead of
time. The women decided what dish to bring so there would be plenty
to eat.

Roseanna Nisely asked her daughter, Ella
Miller, to squeeze lemons and prepare coolers full of lemonade to
go with the meal. Other coolers held water and tea.

The toddlers had been taken to the house
yard. They lay on blankets, taking a nap or sit quietly as they
watch the men work. Katie Yost watched over them to keep them out
of the way. On one quilt laid babies, napping.

Younger teenage boys took benches from the
bench wagon and set up tables and benches in the hay field for the
meal.

For the younger generation of boys and girls,
this was a learning experience so they would know how to work at a
barn raising when it was their turn to be in charge.

The operator ribbed up the crane and lifted
the frame work for each side of the barn while the men hammered the
frames in place. Soon the frames of the barn were secured.

More than just a construction project, the
beautiful fall day provided a community gathering. Families
attended for fellowship as well as to help the Stolfus family.
Hearing laughter and chatter around her reminded Hal of cheerful
bird songs. However, the workers pounding nails and others making
saws grate through wood added to her headache.

Homemade bread filled the air with a
delicious aroma as young girls helped Aunt Tootie and Edna Mast set
the table. Other women set bowls of food in the middle of the
tables. A couple of young boys were sent to tell the first shift of
hard working men it was time to stop for lunch. Those men took in
the good smells as they brought their appetite to the table with
them.

Lunch was served in two shifts for the men
and boys to accommodate work schedules. While some ate, others
worked to keep the construction going. Admittedly, lunch took
longer than planned, as people welcomed the chance to catch up on
news.

While the men sat down for first lunch Rudy
Briskey's booming voice told those nearest him at his table, “Have
you heard my corn field was set on fire. I lost all my shocks.”

“
Did you see anyone around?” Eli Mast
asked.

“
Nah, it was the noise of the
frightened sheep and the dog that woke me up.”

“
What did you do?” Cooner Jonas Rogies
asked.

“
I called the fire department. The
firemen were able to put the fire out just before it entered my
house yard. The whole field was destroyed,” Rudy
lamented.

Bishop Bontrager said, “That is quite a loss.
If you need winter feed, bring it up at the next worship service.
The congregation will be glad to help out with hay offerings.”

Rudy held his hands palms out. “Denki,
Bishop, but I can afford to use my hay to feed the stock cows.
Others may need the aid more than I do if the fires keep
happening.”

Bishop Bontrager nodded. “Did you know that
John Lapp's barn was set on fire?”

“
Nah, John, Nurse Hal and her parents
were over at our house Thursday. He did not say anything,” Rudy
declared.

“
That is the night it happened,” Elton
said.

“
Do much damage?” Levi Yoder
asked.

“
Nah, the Lapps found the fire in time
to put it out with the help of the fire department. The arsonist
hit Nurse Hal over the head and intended to let her burn with the
barn. She is lucky the dog and animals woke everyone up,” Elton
told him.

Rudy looked worried. “That is too bad. What
was Nurse Hal doing in the barn that time of night?”

“
John said something about her checking
on a new goat she bought that would not stay in the pen,” Elton
said.

“
Ach, nah!” Rudy looked contritely at
his shoes. “Was she hurt?”

“
Bad enough, Brother Rudy. She had to
go to the hospital over night. I'm surprised she is here today. She
has been on bed rest because of a concussion until yesterday. She
helped with the lunch yesterday for the school children and tended
Mark Yoder. The boy stepped on a nail that went all the way through
his shoe and foot. That was quite a day for her, and here she is
back again today,” Elton said.

“
Gute thing Nurse Hal is tough, I
reckon,” Levi Yoder praised.

“
Part of Bender Road Timber burnt,”
Amos Coblentz added.

“
Nah, the timber!” Elton exclaimed.
“When did that happen?”

“
Friday night. A rumspringa party was
taking place in the timber. I hear the teenagers got out just in
time,” Amos said.

“
Where is all this going to end?” Rudy
implored.

“
We must pray the person setting the
fires sees the light soon,” Bishop Bontrager said.

All the men removed their straw hats as Jonah
Stolfus said, “We will have a prayer yet.”

As soon as the bishop ended the prayer, the
women served plates of beef stew, pickled cabbage and applesauce.
The thick slabs of homemade bread, everyone had smelled that
morning, was passed.

With her shy smile, Ella Miller served the
lemonade she made. She had to return to the coolers several times
to refill her pitcher.

Jason, the crane operator, stopped eating to
say, “This is the best apple butter I've ever tasted. In fact, I
can't remember when I've enjoyed such a delicious meal. I guess
this is why Amish women are known for their cooking.”

The women, within earshot, reddened at the
compliment. They weren't used to anyone complimenting them. Jonah
Stolfus caught the modest way his wife looked at him and answered
for the women. “Our humble denki for your kind words, Jason. The
women find joy in sharing the bounty we have. It is a part of who
we are, and that is all.”

Bishop Bontrager added, “Jason, we believe as
the verse says in Ecclesiastes. Do not righteous over much.”